Perhaps one of the most talked-about issues is gender roles. Under this umbrella falls transsexuality, feminism, and stereotypic “masculine-versus-feminine” traits. What is it that makes gender a source of so many problems? How can the XX or XY chromosomes differ that significantly that a person’s sex dictates certain categories that they fall into?
From the day a child in conceived, gender becomes a major role in that baby’s life. Is it a boy? Is it a girl? Will the room be pink? Blue? A neutral white or yellow? And with this, right off the bat, stereotypes arise of the “strength of blue” and the “delicate nature of pink”. Parents say that they don’t care what the gender is- they’ll be happy as long as their child is healthy. So why is it that, years down the road when transsexuality takes center stage, there is suddenly such cause for concern? If gender didn’t matter upon birth, why is it such an issue now? Yes, religion, politics, nature-versus-nurture- all come into play. It may be difficult for parents to adjust to their little girl or baby boy identifying as something that they may not be biologically. But at the end of the day, it is still their child that they brought into this world. All we as humans want is to be loved and accepted, regardless of what we believe or identify as.
Feminism is also a movement gaining momentum. With women still having unequal pay and being subordinate to men in many countries, the need for action has transpired. The extremists that condemn men and try to make them submissive are not in coherence with the feminist agenda. Feminists do not want one gender to be more significant than another; feminists want equality for all genders. Imagine a world where men and women have the same opportunities, political positions, economic status, and equal pay. In this world, there is less violence against women and more rights as to how women take care of their reproductive health. Men also don’t have to adhere to certain “rules” or “norms” in this world. It would be more acceptable for men to show emotions and open up, and society wouldn’t view this as an act of “weakness.” How could a place where the playing field is leveled and stereotypes are diminished be such a horrible thing?
What I hope all people can strive for together is equality. We should not judge others based on what they identify as or what their hormone levels consist of. We live in a country that prides ourselves on opportunity for a better life, and we should all have that opportunity despite our genetic composition.
